That is absolutely a bizarre thing to do, given, as you stated, the title of the series.

Incidentally, the whole "magnate soap opera" bandwagon feels like one that passed a long time ago. There was DALLAS, DYNASTY and FALCON CREST. Perhaps there were others I am not aware of, but they definitely feel like a product of their era.

I just can't imagine the "magnate soap opera" working today, but I guess some may enjoy it.

At least when they brought back Dallas it was a sequel to the original material complete with Larry Hagman as JR (as well as some other original cast members). Wonder if there's a particular reason why they didn't do Dynasty that way with the next generation?

"At least when they brought back Dallas it was a sequel to the original material complete with Larry Hagman as JR (as well as some other original cast members)."

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In fact, Hagman insisted on bringing in castmates Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy before signing on. He died during the show's production, which led to the "Who Killed JR?" storyline. I have to admit, I like the way it was handled. I think that Hagman would have gotten a kick out it.

(SPOILERS)

INVISO TEXT (Click or highlight to reveal):

JR discovered that he had terminal Cancer, so he hired someone to shoot him and frame longtime nemesis Cliff Barnes for his death.

Funny thing about that Dallas spoiler? If I remember right, squeaky clean Boy Scout Bobby was in on it!

Never watched DYNASTY (or KNOT'S LANDING, or FALCON CREST, or.....), but I was a DALLAS fan. In fact, I'm the only person in my family who figured out who shot JR. I was eight when he was shot (The episode aired in March; my birthday is in April), nine when it was revealed who did it.

I couldn't get into the new version of DALLAS (mainly due to the casting, not the writing), and I knew as soon as Larry Hagman died that the show wouldn't be around much longer. JR was DALLAS.

"I couldn't get into the new version of DALLAS (mainly due to the casting, not the writing)"

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Me, neither. It was mainly the veterans who all brought their A-game, surrounded by neophyte actors that all looked like they were fresh out of college, and nothing made me care about them. When it was on Netflix, I was just skipping around to watch the scenes with Hagman, Duffy, and Gray.

" JR was DALLAS."

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Damn straight. And he played the hell out of the role to the very end (his final scene was recorded just 5 days before he died). I'm glad that he went out doing what he loved, at least. And in the episode there JR is confirmed dead, they tweaked the episode opening to this: LINK

With John Forsythe already dead, that rules out DYNASTY being brought back in the same fashion.

I watched Dallas as a kid too (never watched Dynasty). I remember how the whole "who shot JR" thing was a cultural phenomenon. There were t-shirts and, as a fourth grader, I recall kids actually talking about it and trying to figure it out. I doubt there's a drama today that would have that many kids watching it, but there are a lot more channels and streaming choices these days.

I don't know why HAWAII 5-0 and MACGYVER aren't sequels.either. If you watched the first episodes of each (which is all I did), both were almost set up to feature the SONS of the original characters, which would have been better. That disappointment led me to drop both quickly.

But, yeah, I thought the same thing--"DYNASTY" implies a continuation. If this had been done by one of the larger, more established networks (one not focused on millennials), I imagine it might have had a bit more of a chance to be a sequel.

I'm reminded of a problem I started to have with thePhantom, decades ago. Lee Falk created the character with a built-in solution to the "problem" of characters aging: the first Phantom readers met was the latest in a long line. Logically, then, after a couple of decades he would step aside for his son to take over.

But that didn't happen. The strip "locked" on one Phantom, and he remained ageless as the world changed around him.

Now we see the same thing happening with DYNASTY. Instead of taking the title at face value, they recast (and alter) the characters.

Eric, I see what you mean about HAWAII 5-0 and MACGYVER. I watched the first season of HAWAII 5-0, then gave up on it. However, I enjoy the new version of MACGYVER. The cast is great and the differences make it work. My only real complaint is that the new version of Murdoc absolutely sucks. The original Murdoc at least had charisma and came off as kind of cool, even if he was a murderous psychopath. The new version is just a murderous psychopath who has neither the coolness or charisma. I couldn't care less if he's either never seen again, or legitimately killed off the next time he shows up.

Dynasty was on for nine years, making it reliable enough to be considered an ongoing money maker. And it did produce a two-season spin-off in The Colbys. I could see execs looking across the street at Empire and the new Dallas and deciding this was worth a throw of the die.

I only watched the pilot of the new HAWAII 5-0, but I thought the 'McGarrett' in the new version is the son (although grandson seems more appropriate by now) of the 'real' one.

To make it more confusing, they did an episode where footage of Jack Lord from an 'original series' episode was incorporated into a new one, with Lord being referred to by a different name(some kind of 'dream sequence'), as a 60s/70s detectiv whose work with the original 'Five-0' unit inspired McGarrett.

So. Not. Interested. The problem with rebooting old shows and films like Dynasty is that who are the target audience? It seems that Hollywood are going after a small portion who actually remember the shows or films. It's ridiculous. What killed it for me was when they rebooted the Green Hornet and The Lone Ranger. I wasn't even born when they came out. Yes, I'd heard of them but it wasn't something I was interested in seeing because they were bringing it back.

The Hollywood bring back something I remember and enjoyed in The A-Team and made it nothing like The A-Team. The characters were off and it really should have just been called something else. It was a decent film but not even close to the original show.

I hated the Green Hornet and Lone Ranger movies (I'm a fan of both the radio and tv shows for both), because they made the heroes goofballs and the sidekicks the real brains. And the Lone Ranger actually being a Texas Ranger made no sense.